The Justice Department's inspector general sent a criminal referral to the U.S. Attorney in Washington for consideration, according to a Thursday report in the Washington Post.

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The U.S. attorney will determine whether McCabe's actions reached the level of committing a crime.

The IG found McCabe had acted in his own self-interest in authorizing a pair of FBI officials to speak with a reporter about the bureau's investigation into the Clinton foundation and Hillary Clinton's private email server.

According to the IG, McCabe's decision failed to meet the FBI standards for a "public interest" exception involving ongoing investigations.

McCabe was fired in March by Attorney General Jeff Sessions only hours before his planned retirement — costing the federal agent some of his benefits.

McCabe alleged the decision was a politically motivated attempt to ruin his reputation and taint the FBI.

McCabe's lawyer, Michael Bromwich, said the standard for an inspector general referral is very low and he expected McCabe to avoid prosecution.

"We are confident that, unless there is inappropriate pressure from high levels of the administration, the US Attorney's Office will conclude that it should decline to prosecute," Bromwich said.

President Trump tweeted about the referral shortly afterwards, saying it was "a disaster" for both McCabe and his former boss, James Comey. "Getting a little (lot) of their own medicine?" the tweet said.